Gil, welcome to our forum, you have found the best site for sure. Good that you and your Wife are both sharing a wonderful passtime such as the bees. Nice. Spend lots of time here, ask questions, all questions are good and deserve answers.
So, about your question about feeding. Can you go and lift the back of your hives to feel if they are heavy or light? That would be a great indication of whether there are lots or minimal amount of stores. Do be careful, like JP said though, about too much moisture in the hive in the winter. That is why the sugar syrup feeding should be done before the bees cluster (and I know that it is not always that easy to get this done, life can get so dang busy). If anything, the candy or even dry sugar, in my opinion, would be better than feeding liquid, because of the moisture in the hive. Check out the weight of the colonies for sure. You will hear more answers as more forum friends read your post.
And again, welcome to our wonderful forum of friends and have the best of days. Cindi